[ViolaMum]

Originally Posted by Soliloquy

Very true. I always forget that Kitchen Aid makes the tilt-back model. That model is really only for mixing cake and muffin type batters. I think it's always worth the extra money to get the up-down model instead of the tilt-back model.



My mom's Kitchen Aid stand mixer is almost 50 years old and still going.

My aunt has one at least that old. It's actually marked as a Hobart. (The original parent company.) The quality has definitely fallen since they sold off the company about 5 years ago, though.

My tilt-head machine is 25 years old - it was a graduation gift. It still works, but it's smaller, so it doesn't get as much use. I have a large bowl-lift model on the counter. I'm now on my second bowl-lift model. When I had a problem with my first tilt-head machine, I found a local appliance repair authorized to fix Kitchen Aid. When I had a problem with the second bowl-lift machine, that place had closed. The only option now for repairs is to ship it back to Kitchen Aid. Dh ended up buying me a new bowl-lift instead of repairing the old one. Definitely worth considering.

I agree with a pp in that the mixer is typically a more versatile machine. If you don't bake in the bread machine and always use the oven, the mixer would be more useful. One other consideration is that usually counter top electrics throw off significantly less heat than the oven. If you're making a lot of bread, especially in hot weather, baking in a bread machine makes sense to me.